Saturday, September 9, 2023

On this day 09 September

Outrider!



  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Alexandria, VA at Alexandria Roller Rink
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Boston, MA at Boston Garden
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - Hampton, VA at Hampton Roads Coliseum
  • 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Tampa, FL at USF Sun Dome 

1970
Unusually, the Boston Garden gig didn't sell out. It's hard to imagine, but there it is. 
1970 Led Zeppelin - Boston, MA at Boston Garden

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Boston, MA at Boston Garden

1971
Plant sang a bit from "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (written by Tommy Tucker and covered by a whole bunch of people including Elvis): "Put on your red dress, baby, Lord, we goin' out tonight" as an intro to "What Is and What Should Never Be".

1971 Led Zeppelin - Hampton, VA at Hampton Roads Coliseum (photo M Mitchell)

1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Hampton, VA at Hampton Roads Coliseum (photo M Mitchell)
1988:
A solo tour is one in which one musician is the focus, rather than the band. Outrider was Jimmy Page's first solo venture, one that many of us felt was long overdue. Although he used a variety of musicians on his solo album, it was John Miles, Durban Laverde and Jason Bonham who supported Jimmy Page on the brief (September - November) 1988 Outrider Tour.

British vocalist John Miles had a hit in the U.K. with Music in 1976.  Miles sang on just two of Outrider's tracks, Wasting My Time and Wanna Make Love. A vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist, Miles has toured
with Tina Turner both as a musician and a tour director, with Joe Cocker and others over the years. He has released ten studio albums as well as live and compilation albums and singles.

Venezuelan Durban Laverde is a bass guitarist, keyboardist, session musician, and producer. He has performed with a variety of artists over the years. David Gilmour used Laverde to session for Pink Floyd in early 1987, during which time he met Phil Carlo who was working for Gilmour and for Jimmy Page at that time. Carlo gets the credit for introducing Laverde to Jimmy Page.

Jimmy Page had known Jason Bonham since before Jason got his first drum kit at 4 years old. The son of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Jason was drummer for the band, Virginia Wolf, that toured with The Firm in 1985. Jason drummed for Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones at the 1988 Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in New York City and the 2007 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in 2007. Jason has released or appeared on approximately twenty albums, and currently tours as Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience.

1988 Outrider promo photo - Durban Laverde, Jason Bonham, Jimmy Page, John Miles

Jimmy Page has has performed with a lot of good musicians over the years. Outrider is awesome - but it's the guitar work that is awesome, not the vocals, not the drumming, not the bass. For those of us who revere the guitar work of Jimmy Page, he's always been the only one on the stage.


♪  Led Zeppelin (Boston at Boston Gardens, 09 September 1970) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Hampton VA at Hampton Roads Coliseum, 09 September 1971) 
♪  Jimmy Page - Outrider Tour (Tampa FL at USF Sun Dome, 09 September 1988) 


 

Friday, September 8, 2023

On this day 08 September

 Check out the guy covering his eyes.  He's peeping between his fingers.

Led Zeppelin on this day in 1968

  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Lolland-Falstar, Denmark at Reventlow-Parken
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Roskilde, Denmark at Fjordvilla Club
  • 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Miami, FL at James L. Knight Center
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Portland, OR at Rose Garden, Theatre of The Clouds

1966
Andy Warhol got to go to all the great parties back in the day.
Keith Relf, Andy Warhol, Jimmy Page 1966 (Michael Ochs photo)

1968
The "Yard Birds" performed at a harvest festival first, later at the Fjordvilla club where they were supported by The Lady Birds, four topless go-go dancers. Although the band got onstage early (7:00 PM) the audience was already drunk and rowdy. 

1988
Jimmy Page's performance of  “In My Time of Dying” featured some awesome slide guitar work. The outrider tour consisted of Jimmy Page, John Miles on vocals and keyboard, Durban Laverde on bass, and Jason Bonham on drums. The show ended with an instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven" with the audience supplying the vocals.

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

On this day 06 September

 Grabber

1988 06 September On This Day Jimmy Page's Outrider Tour starts with Atlanta
♪  Wasting My Time (Jimmy Page, Outrider 1988) Soundcloud
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu,HI at International Center Arena
  • 1977 Jimmy Page with Carl Simmons, Phil Carson, Bill Kinsley, Brighton, England at Metropole Hotel for WEA Records Convention
  • 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Atlanta,GA at The Omni
  • 1998 Page & Plant - George,WA at The Gorge Amphitheatre

1977
Led Zeppelin's scheduled shows in the US had been cancelled after Karac Plant's death.in late July. On this day Jimmy Page went with Phil Carson (London-based Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records UK) to WEA Records' annual convention, held that year at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton, England, not far from Jimmy Page's Plumpton Place home and studio. WEA is an acronym for Warner-Elektra-Atlantic. It was renamed Warner Music in 1991. No doubt someone recorded the jam session, but I haven't found any recordings that explicitly say that it's that jam session, identifying who was playing.



Led Zeppelin (Honolulu HI at International Center Arena, 06 September 1970)
♪ Jimmy Page Outrider Tour (Atlanta GA at The Omni, 06 September 1988)



 

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

On this day 05 September

 ...a traveler of both time and space

1966 05 September On This Day Jimmy Page recorded A Degree of Murder soundtrack with Brian Jones
♪ A Degree of Murder (Brian Jones) Soundcloud

  • 1966 Jimmy Page recorded A Degree of Murder soundtrack with Brian Jones.
  • 1969 Tous En Scene TV show, filmed June 19, aired on French TV
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - Chicago, IL at International Amphitheatre
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Vancouver, Canada at General Motors Place
  • 2008 It Might Get Loud premiers at Toronto Film Festival
  • 2013 Jimmy Page at London launch of Lou Reed limited edition book, Transformer
It's all connected:
Jimmy Page was employed as producer, session musician and A&R scout for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records label in 1965. Jimmy Page produced and played on Nico’s 1965 singles for Immediate, I'm Not Sayin' / The Last Mile.

Oldham was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967. Brian Jones was the founder and original bandleader of the Rolling Stones, and in 1966 Jimmy Page worked with Brian Jones recording the soundtrack to the 1967 movie, A Degree of Murder. Jones' broke up with his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, and shortly after was seen enjoying the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 with Nico.

Nico had met Bob Dylan a few years before and had traveled with him around Europe while Dylan worked on songs for his fourth album, 1964's Another Side of Bob Dylan.  During that time Dylan wrote a song for Nico's 1967 Chelsea Girl album called I'll Keep It With Mine.  Chelsea Girl was released in October 1967 by Verve Records, The Velvet Underground's label. According to some sources, Bob Dylan had introduced Nico to Andy Warhol, who had done a "screen test" of Dylan in 1965 or 1966, and Warhol introduced her to Lou Reed's band, The Velvet Underground.
  
The album The Velvet Underground & Nico was produced in 1972 by Andy Warhol. While it didn't sell many copies at the time, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number thirteen on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".  But then, Rolling Stone ranked Led Zeppelin's first album only 29th (that was in 2015, it's now dropped farther down),.  The magazine's music critics never have much liked Led Zeppelin, so take their ranking for what it's worth.

To continue...
Transformer was Lou Reed's second solo studio album. One of the tracks, Walk On The Wild Side, became Lou Reed's signature song. The 1972 album was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and the cover art photography was by Mick Rock, David Bowie's official photographer.  Rock continued photographing Lou Reed and other musicians over the decades.

Mick Rock has put out a number of photographic books. He and Lou Reed launched a Genesis Publications limited edition book, Transformer, in London in September 2013. Jimmy Page was at the event. Reed died October 27, 2013.  
"The Yardbirds used to cover I'm Waiting For My Man a lot; we used to drop it into the middle of  I'm A Man. I'm pretty certain we were the first people to cover The Velvet Underground."  ~Jimmy Page, Julian Marszalek interview, Quietus November 2014


1966

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack
2008
2008 Jimmy Page at It Might Get Loud premier, Toronto Film Festival

Jimmy Page, in It Might Get Loud

Jimmy Page, in It Might Get Loud
2013
2013 Jimmy Page and Lou Reed at launch of Reed's limited edition book, Transformer

2015








Monday, September 4, 2023

On this day 04 September

 Jimmy Page, here, there and everywhere

1964 04 September On This Day Joe Cocker singles released
♪ I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) Soundcloud

  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Honolulu, HI at International Center, Exhibition Hall
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin with Fairport Convention - West Hollywood, CA at Troubadour Club 
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens
  • 1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company - Central Park, NYC at Schaefer Music Festival
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Vancouver, Canada, rehearsal at General Motors Place 
1970:
Following the show at the Forum, the four members of Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant showed up at the Troubadour Club for Fairport Convention 's second set and jammed with them. Sandy Denny was Fairport Convention's singer. Denny was later to contribute vocals on Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore. She was the only guest vocalist Led Zeppelin ever recorded with. During later live performances of the song John Paul Jones sang Denny's vocals, with sometimes John Bonham joining in.

During the jam, Bonham attacked Dave Mattacks' drums with his usual enthusiasm. Later Mattacks had to repair the kit and replace the heads. It was reported that the bass drum jumped forward three or four inches with Bonzo's first strike.

The story goes that after the Fairport/Zeppelin jam they all moved to the after hours bar, Barney's Beanery, where Janis Joplin was hanging out. A drinking contest between Fairport's Dave Pegg, Bonham and Janis Joplin ensued. No report of a winner has surfaced.

The jam was taped, and according to Dave Lewis, it ended up in Peter Grant's possession. That recording has not surfaced, either.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at LA Forum







1974
Bad Company had only begun performing live in May of 1974.  Their first album, Bad Company, was released by Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label.  Jimmy Page joined Bad Company for an encore of Rock Me Baby at the Shaefer Music Festival in New York's Central Park on September 4, 1974.  

In 1983, Jimmy Page appeared with the ARMS charity concert series.  Steve Winwood provided vocals for Jimmy Page's set at the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Paul Rodgers, of Bad Company, replaced Winwood for the four-city ARMS tour in the United States.  Rodgers joined Jimmy Page in The Firm in 1985 and 1986.  

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Mick Ralphs of Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC


♪  I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Those Precious Words (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Inglewood CA at LA Forum, 04 September 1970) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, 09 September 1971) 
♪  Rock Me Baby (Jimmy Page with Bad Company, New York 1974) 


Sunday, September 3, 2023

On this day 03 September

 Sometimes touring is hard, hard, harder than it needs to be.

1998 03 September On This Day Page & Plant arrive in Vancouver
  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Salem, OR at Salem Armory Auditorium
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
  • 1998 Page & Plant arrive in Vancouver, British Columbia

1970
According to Dave Lewis the crowd in San Diego was rowdy. Then Jimmy Page had a problem with his guitar in the acoustic set and Bron Yr Aur was abandoned. Robert Plant got creative with Whole Lotta Love lyrics. 

After all that, a music critic from San Diego Union panned the show, ending with..."if this music is part of the new life style, it somehow makes the wrong side of 40 seem like the right side."  [D. Dierks/Music Critic/SD Union/9-4-70]

I always wonder if the music critics of then ever ate their words.

1970 Led Zeppelin San Diego bootleg insert

1971:
"I'm Scott Muni, from WNEW-FM. They take a poll over in England every year. For the second time, the greatest rock and roll band in the land, LED ZEPPELIN!"!
"...the stage collapsed. Plant and Page made their way to the top of the stacks of amps, then crawled down and off stage. The house lights came up and the P.A. announcer asked for calm and for everyone to return to their seats."
~ A.J. Crandall report on his experience of the 1971 show
1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin MSG

1971 Led Zeppelin MSG







♪  Led Zeppelin (New York at Madison Square Garden, 03 September 1971) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TntuvGvJB8Q&list=PLf62FjbXtD1IcycLpMqc9G02lED9LyE13&index=1